Crimson & Gray Awards |
INDIANA, Pa. – Senior track & field hurdler
Lizzy Cunningham (Hastings, Pa. /Northern Cambria) has been named the 2016-17 IUP Women's Athlete of the Year, which was announced on Thursday, June 15 by the IUP Athletic Department.
The award is part of the newly established Crimson & Gray Awards, which recognize the top athletes, coaches, teams and performances of the IUP Athletics season.
The Athlete of the Year Award is in its fifth year of existence.
Cunningham earned first team All-American honors at the 2017 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in May. She proved herself to be one of the fastest women in the country, finishing fourth in the 400 meter hurdles with a personal best time of 59.27.
Cunningham went into the NCAA Championships with the eighth fastest time in the 400 hurdles with a then-personal best time of 59.39. She bettered that with a time of 59.34 in the prelims before cutting even more time in the finals.
It was her first career All-American honor, becoming the third different woman in program history to achieve such an accolade in a hurdle event at the NCAA Championships.
She becomes the first women's track & field athlete to be named an IUP Athlete of the Year.
Also the 2016-17 IUP Women's Senior of the Year award winner – which was announced on Tuesday – earned All-Atlantic Region honors in the 400 hurdles and 800 meters by the USTFCCCA for the outdoor season. She finished the season with the second fastest 400 hurdle time (59.27) in the Atlantic Region, and the fourth quickest 800 meter time (2:12.18).
Cunningham was the highest point scorer for the IUP women at this spring's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Outdoor Championships in Bloomsburg, tallying a pair of second place finishes in the 800 meters and 400 hurdles.
She also ran a leg on the PSAC champion and IUP record breaking 4x400 meter relay.
She was a two-time IUP Athlete of the Week winner this spring, also winning the 400 hurdles and 4x400 relay at the season opening Cal U Early Bird after not competing at all during the 2016-17 indoor season.
Up next
The 2016-17 IUP Men's Athlete of the Year will be announced at 2:30 p.m. This wraps up the inaugural Crimson & Gray Awards.
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